labor - Dutch trade union visits multinationals

A groups of representatives of the Dutch FNV and FNV Bondgenoten, the largest trade union in the Netherlands, will arrive this weekend for an informal visit in China and mainly visit factories of Dutch multinationals in Shenzhen, Hefei, Shanghai and Beijing. I will hold the hand of a few of them when they arrive on Tuesday in Shanghai, so you might find some reports about their visit here.
Some years ago the former chairman of the FNV also visited Shanghai and did not get much further than the gate of the companies. At this stage the visit seems to have been prepared much better. It comes at an interesting time as the international trade union start to rethink its position towards China. Up to now unions elsewhere in the world have been ignoring the Chinese trade union, as it is perceived to be an extension of the state. China does not allow independent trade unions. But the recent success of the Chinese trade union by unionizing Wal-Mart has appealed to many in the international trade union. In the US Wal-Mart has successfully resisted the unions and the US unions not been able to do what the Chinese counterparts did. In Europe, at least in Germany, Wal-Mart outlets are also unionized.